Atom Bank will be the UK's first bank without its own branch, just an app

The UK is about to get its first bank which doesn't have its own branch, but runs entirely from an app. Atom Bank is that app.

At the moment the cutting edge banking service has simply been granted the right to operate in the UK. The app should launch later this year.

The plan is to offer the best technology can manage and to set a new standard for tech in banking. The app will use biometric security, 3D visualisations and even gaming technology.

The only real world interaction customers can have with Atom Bank will be through a third-party. The app bank is going to partner with a high street bank so that branches will be available for paying in cash and cheques. Who that is remains to be seen.

Atom Bank will have a website but it won't work for banking, rather as an entry point to the experience. Customers will be able to download an app onto their desktop for banking from a computer.

The company rasied £25 million last year and will be run by CEO Mark Mullen who previously ran HSBC's telephone banking branch First Direct.

Little else has been revealed about how the app works or what it offers. Mullen says he doesn't want to give away what is planned for the competition to copy.